Posts Tagged ‘Aine O’ Dwyer’

July 2016 opened with world-renowned German composer Nils Frahm’s magnificent “Possibly Colliding” weekend of music at the Barbican Centre, London. Curated by Frahm, the special lineup featured live performance, conversation and film screenings where the headline act was Frahm’s monumental sold-out Barbican show, comprising his “most ambitious concert to date.”

Possibly Colliding felt not only like a celebration of the visionary artist’s cherished songbook (thus far) but rather a distillation of the most ground-breaking moments of today’s contemporary music scene. The angelic, hushed solo piano pieces were interwoven with the sprawling and sublime synthesizer-led pieces and many live collaborations – cellist Anne Müller, Nonkeen (with the addition of gifted drummer Andrea Belfi), London-based vocal ensemble Shards, and the André de Ridder-led stargaze ensemble – rendered new versions of Frahm’s towering body of work and offered new insights into the gifted composer’s sonic sphere.

During July we were delighted to be invited to participate in Irish actor Cillian Murphy’s curated IMMA Summer Party happening at the grounds of the Irish Museum of Modern Art at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin. Murphy’s music lineup featured performances by celebrated German composer and pianist Hauschka, gifted Irish fiddle player and composer Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Irish-based indie band Meltybrains? Some selections from our DJ set appear in this month’s mixtape.

Limerick-born and London-based composer Áine O’Dwyer has long been one of our most cherished and favourite contemporary musicians. O’Dwyer has released records on such independent labels as: Mie Music, Second language and Fort Evil Fruit, while her versatile talents are evident in her rich and varied recorded output to date, which have featured: live recordings for pipe organ, music for harp and voice and music for solo piano.

This year’s Le Guess Who? festival features special guest curators – including the inimitable L.A. songwriter Julia Holter – who has invited Áine O’Dwyer to this year’s lineup in Utrecht which takes place on 10–13 November 2016.

Compiled by Fractured Air, July 2016. The copyright in these recordings is the property of the individual artists and/or record labels. If you like the music, please support the artist by buying their records.

Boards Of Canada “Tomorrow’s Harvest” (Warp)
In today’s day and age you may be forgiven for thinking the days of the “eagerly awaited” album is a thing of the past. However, Warp’s legendary Boards of Canada’s “Tomorrow’s Harvest” has easily been the most hotly-anticipated album in a long time. The resulting seventeen tracks presented on the “Tomorrow’s Harvest” cut confirms the legendary status of Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin’s Boards Of Canada, the Scottish electronic duo who have become a genre onto themselves at this stage.

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Justin Walter “Lullabies & Nightmares” (kranky)
One of the true musical treasures this year so far has been Brooklyn-based (born in Michigan) composer Justin Walter’s debut LP “Lullabies & Nightmares”. An album which has all the hallmarks of a work of art which has been painstakingly created over many years. In Walter’s words: “”I set out to record an album of completely improvised music that fused my experiments with the Electronic Valve Instrument and my love of held sounds on the trumpet.”

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John Lemke “People Do” (Denovali)
This July marks the release of John Lemke’s debut album “People Do”, a stunning selection crossing genres at will – encompassing all the beauty and artistry of the neoclassical realm while embodying the cool charm and electronic textures of the best in the ambient/electronic scene. Born in Berlin, Lemke currently resides in Glasgow. The album is mastered by Germany’s Nils Frahm at his Durton Studio. Also essential is Lemke’s “Walizka” EP, a digital only release to anticipate the debut full length which will be issued by the constantly innovative German-based Denovali Records.

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amiina “The Lighthouse Project” (Sound Of A Handshake)
If someone wished to find a single album to demonstrate the magical quality only music can capture (and impart) look no further than Icelandic sextet amiina’s current collection “The Lighthouse Project.” Recorded live, the album recalls the inimitable charm of early Tiersen compositions. Also features a beautiful cover of Lee Hazelwood’s “Leather and Lace”. Available on Morr Music’s Sound Of A Handshake imprint.

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Áine O’ Dwyer ” Anything bright or startling?” (Second Language)
Released by London-based Second Language at the beginning of June, “Anything bright or startling?” comprises a song cycle of fragile beauty and ambitious scope recalling the likes of Joanna Newsom and Nico. O’ Dwyer is a firmly established harpist and collaborator (Mark Fry & The A Lords, Cloisters, Piano Magic) while a collection of church organ études, “Music For Church Cleaners”, comprised O’ Dwyer’s first solo recording.

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Anika “EP” (Stones Throw)
Follow-up to much talked about debut self-titled album by Anika, produced By Portishead/Beak’s Geoff Barrow. The EP comprises an array of incredible covers (featuring The Kinks’ ‘I Go To Sleep’ and The Crystals/Phil Spector classic ‘He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss’). Aesthetically, Anika’s music takes much influence from the vintage past where the spirit of Nico particularly haunts. The highlight for me is Anika’s bold take on the Chromatics classic “In The City”, where Johnny Jewel’s über cool hit gets wonderfully deconstructed.

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Lucrecia Dalt “Commotus” (Human Ear Music)
I first came across Barcelona’s Lucrecia Dalt from her track “Silencio” where Julia Holter adds harmonium. Released by Berlin’s Human Ear Music label, “Commotus” is an album of breathtaking imagination which reveals more and more on every visit. Similar in style to such labels as RVNG INTL (Holter, Herndon) and free spirits as Dirty Beaches and Nicolas Jaar, the album reveals such diverse influences as Enio Morricone, Brian Eno, Moondog and Julianna Barwick.

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I Am The Cosmos “Monochrome”(Self-Relelased)
“Monochrome” is the debut LP from Dublin dance/electronic duo I Am The Cosmos. The album comprises an irresistibly cool, New Wave inspired late night collection recalling the many delights on the Italians Do It Better label (Chromatics, Symmetry, Desire) plus such acts as New Order and Junior Boys. A fine array of synths, drum machines and groove-heavy bass lines combine with an effortless pop sensibility and a keen penchant for melody.

Money “The Shadow Of Heaven” (Bella Union)
Money’s debut full-length album won’t be out until August 26th, so in the meantime we can still marvel at the Manchester four-piece’s debut single release for Bella Union – “Bluebell Fields” – an irresistible gem overflowing at the brim with effortless hooks and timeless melody. Prior to the Bella Union LP “The Shadow Of Heaven” comes the single “Hold Me Forever”.

“Nothing in particular inspired me to take up music, it has always been an accessible form of expression as long as I can remember. Although, listening to massively inspiring works allows me to hear, feel, digest, understand and learn in a different way, whether it’s Arvo Pärt’s ‘Tabula Rasa’ or Robbie Basho’s ‘Blue Crystal Fire’.”

—Áine O’ Dwyer

Words: Mark Carry, Illustration: Craig Carry

Later in the month of May sees the release of Áine O’ Dwyer’s first full-length album on London’s Second Language label. The name of this eagerly awaited body of work is ‘Anything Bright Or Startling?’ and most certainly, it will make for a highly enriching experience. A bonus cd contains eighteen minutes of true beauty, featuring two piano improvisations, a church organ piece, a chant/harmony (‘A Calling’) and a short flute interlude. This masterful artist and musician is capable of conjuring up an otherworldly sound through the meditative symphonic sounds of harp, piano, organ and not least, her beautiful voice. What I love about the music of Áine O’ Dwyer is the divine purity that is embedded in each of the songs. The solo piano and solo organ pieces are works of stunning beauty that places O’ Dwyer in the realm of the current Neoclassical age of composers. The harp-based compositions was my first introduction to the Limerick-born, London-based artist and it is this very instrument she is perhaps best known for.

Áine O’ Dwyer is synonymous with the independent music label, Second Language. The album ‘I Lived In Trees’ by Mark Fry was where I first came across O’ Dwyer. Her harp playing serves a vital part to the achingly beautiful folk songs of Mark Fry and The A. Lords. A pastoral landscape is etched across a gorgeous canvas of sound that aches of a lost England; evoking dreams, childhood, loss and our very existence. The delicate harp notes meanders effortlessly amidst the A. Lords’ soundscapes of spanish guitar, harmonium, accordion, bouzouki, clarinet, banjo and bells. There are numerous other collaborations O’ Dwyer has been involved with, most notably The Cloisters, Richard Moult, Piano Magic and United Bible Studies. As a collaborator, the staggering works of art – many of which have been released by Second Language – showcases the artistry and supreme talent of O’ Dwyer, where a deep understanding is forged between like-minded artists. A musical telepathy is forever inherent in these special recordings, from Michael Tanner’s Cloisters project to the experimental folk of United Bible Studies.

Seeing Áine O’ Dwyer live in concert is something to truly behold. Little did I know what awaited me. In the intimate space of my local recordstore, a beguiling tapestry of harp notes ascended into the atmosphere that simply left me dumbfounded. With no aid of technology – microphones/pedals or otherwise- O’ Dwyer’s voice and harp-based compositions carved out a sacred sound, reminiscent of Joanna Newsom. The music possesses the power to penetrate the human space, where the deeply affecting songs remain rooted to your consciousness. Later, O’ Dwyer joined United Bible Studies but it was her solo songs-not shielded behind noise of electricity-that in my eyes, celebrated art in its truest sense. Raw, fragile, moving and utterly captivating.

‘Music For Church Cleaners’ is an album of church organ music performed by Áine in St Mark’s Church, Islington. As the title suggests, the music was performed in the presence of the church cleaners, who at times can be heard in the recordings. The organ improvisations are truly breathtaking as you feel the organ filling the sacred space of the church. The music can be termed drone, ambient or classical but above all, it is sacred music. Whenever I revisit this special album, I feel a meditative and hypnotic quality exuding from the organ compositions. The pieces of music share the spirit of John Cage where a work of true beauty is created. The album was released on cassette on the Dublin-based independent label, Fort Evil Fruit.

‘Anything Bright Or Startling?’ will soon see the light of day, where Áine O’ Dwyer takes the rightful position of centre stage. It is here where she truly belongs.

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‘Anything Bright Or Startling?’ will be available soon on Second Language Music. ‘Music For Church Cleaners’ is out now on Fort Evil Fruit.

Congratulations Áine on your amazing music. Your compositions; whether piano, harp or organ-based, are all exceptional and utterly compelling. It’s a real pleasure to ask you some questions about your music. I saw you recently on your Irish tour with United Bible Studies in Cork and Limerick. It was amazing to witness your live performance; using no microphone, allowing the intimacy of your voice and harp to capture the spark of magical art in the air. It really was something to behold, Áine. I would love if you could share your memories please of this Irish tour you recently have been on and what special moments you hold onto?

Thanks Mark! Yes, no amplification was a firm decision, although it was really special at Galway’s ‘Abandon Reason’ which took place at a disused underground carpark. The sound was filtered by the buildings cavernous belly. Gorges played that night also, a trio collab with David Colohan, Decklan Krully and Bridgid Power Ryce comprised of vocals and harmonium duets.The plugd gig at the Triskel was a really lovely start and it was a treat as always to play with United Bible Studies. That night there was Paul Condon, Gavin Prior, Enda Trautt, David Colohan, Alison O’Donnell, and Michael Tanner came over from England. It was a great reunion.

Limerick’s Conflux festival was a huge success! I didn’t get to see all the events unfortunately, there was so much going on that day but my highlight was when ‘Raising Holy Sparks’ and members of the audience delivered a chorus of horn jungle chaos!!

And then to round it off, I performed at The workman’s club in Dublin with United Bible studies and Mossy Nolan on the bill that night. It was the first time I saw Nolan perform, it was powerful! So, a very satisfying and uplifting trip.

There was a part of me which enjoyed traveling around the country via public transport with my harp. It’s an unusual sight for people I suppose. Some wondered if it was a type of surf board. I would generally meet with all kinds of guessing games whilst I’m out and about with it and not just in Ireland. The instrument is zipped up in a waterproof cover and I use a metal trolley to wheel it too and fro. I met with a train master at Cork’s Colbert train station who had worked there for over 15 years and not once had he seen a harp pass through the gates. I was surprised to hear that really. A woman at Limerick Junction scolded me, saying that I’d want to ’employ a man for that sort of thing!’

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Tell me please about your introduction to the harp instrument and how you have developed your playing over time?

Well, I was introduced at eleven and started to take lessons locally in Limerick. My teacher insisted that her students play outside of the four walls as much as possible and she was really encouraging at the early stages too. I remember playing in my school band that same spring. There were a couple of years where I felt discouraged and I do remember giving it up and taking on the trad flute instead but that was a short affair. Eventually, when I was a little more rehearsed, I got work at local castles in the area, weddings, funerals, private functions. I began to compose my own furniture music for these events which would usually have sections of improv. Of course this was never enough to feed my curiosity.

I remember I did try to incorporate the harp into performances when I was a student at the Limerick School of Art and Design but I wished to play with other people. Megs Morley was a student there at the time, and asked me to perform at the ENSO Arts Festival in Galway city in 2002. Whilst I was there, she introduced me to United Bibile Studies. They were also performing at the festival and I was invited to play with them that night. It was quite memorable, we all walked on stage banging broomsticks on the floor before we ever took to any instrument. After that, I began to play more frequently with the group, as it opened up a great dialogue with some extremely inspiring and creative music makers.

The following year of 2003 I headed off to New york with the harp. I spent the whole Summer busking on random parts of the city’s streets, parks, sub-ways etc. I was introduced to a variety of noise musicians who I would play/record with and also an improvising Orchestra with whom I performed both in New York and Woodstock.

There’s lots more to do with my development continuing on after 2003, but I would count these early stages to be a vital part.

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What are the possibilities in this musical instrument that you see can only be obtained from the very strings of the harp?

I’ve always experimented with and enjoyed using extended techniques more so than using additional technology. It’s really lovely to bow the lower base steel strings of a harp. A lengthy piece of rubber cable also creates a nice drone. Playing on dampened strings comes in handy. (excuse the pun) Drum brushes work beautifully. I like to lay the harp down flat and play it as a hammer dulcimer too, given the chance. Metal or glass slides work very well along the strings. If I want a guitar or lute sound, I pluck the string closer to the sound board rather than in the center. Playing it backwards is fun! After that, there’s plectrums, harmonics, tremors, string bending……So, plenty of possibilities there before I ever think of plugging it in.

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Is there a piece of music or song that inspired you to take up music?

Nothing in particular inspired me to take up music, it has always been an accessible form of expression as long as I can remember. Although, listening to massively inspiring works allows me to hear, feel, digest, understand and learn in a different way, whether it’s Arvo Pärt’s ‘Tabula Rasa’ or Robbie Basho’s ‘Blue Crystal Fire’.

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Staying on the harp, I love the wide range of sounds you create so effortlessly in your playing. The music sounds contemporary and new yet steeped in traditional/folk but always feels so touching and real. This is clearly apparent on the beautiful piece ‘A Pelagic Recital’, a co-write between you and Michael Tanner. Please give me an insight into this musical collaboration (found on the new album from The Cloisters) and the process involved.

Michael asked me to respond to a piece of music which he gave me to listen to, and I did just that. We spoke very little about it as it was more an intuitive exchange.

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Your album ‘Music For Church Cleaners’ is very special indeed. I can hear sparks of spontaneity throughout as you play the pipe organ inside St Mark’s Church in London. I would love to hear you recount this moment in time when you are playing the organ in this space. Describe the church, the sound and feel of the room and the recording of the music. In terms of the compositions, were they improvisations and experiments?

I would always play on a Saturday morning when the church cleaners would come. There was also a coffee morning in a separate room near the foyer of the church for the local elderly community and a little jumble sale displayed at the back of the nave. I remember the first morning of my visit, I found some rare vinyl there, a favorite of mine was an interpretation of Pérotin by The Dessoff choir, from the 1950’s.

The recordings took place over a space of seven months. I made seven visits and each time I brought with me two zoom recorders. I would sit and play for roughly 2 hours. Yes, they are improvisations and experiments which led to a selection of recordings which made the album.

At the end of the 7 months, I compiled the tracks and as it happens, each track is from a different month. I had explored a similar process the year before, conducting piano improvisations in my family home whilst undergoing construction. (The poor builders!!) But I managed to loose all the recordings. It was a good thing in a way, as it gave me a hunger for further experimentation.

I liked the idea of using the tape format, particularly for this project and Paul Condon of Fort Evil Fruit understood where I was coming from. I would also like to release it on vinyl if ever the opportunity arose and the finances were there.

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Tell me please about the church cleaners too, who play such an integral part. I love how they themselves become the conductors of your music, if you like. For example, when a lady tells you to play different notes, rather than one single note continuously and how you follow their instruction.

Yes, I liked that part too! I think on another recording the same lady came over to ask me if I could bring sheet music the next time. They were growing a little weary of my dronings I’m sure. Maybe I’ll return one day with a score of organ music to play for them and take away the irony of the title. It has been on my mind. There was an elderly man who would do the hovering. I remember he sat on the pew behind me once, waiting for the music to stop so that he could continue with his work and not disturb me. It was only when I stopped playing that he asked me if it would be alright to turn the hoover back on again.

An elderly woman would do the polishing. One Saturday, I had placed my recorder on a nearby piano and when I listened back the next day, I heard her breath very close to the microphone, the spraying of her Mr sheen and finally her hand grabbing the sound device, lifting it up and cleaning the piano’s lid underneath it. There were many elements of chance involved and I wanted that to come through in the recordings but without heavy editing. So there are somethings which I found hard to leave out.

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You told me from our last conversation about the different churches you have visited and been to and the differences you observe. I would love to know what other churches you have found magical and what is it that makes these spaces a place of inspiration?

I can’t remember which ones I talked about before.. Maybe it was the Greek Orthodox church I walked into one day ? I went through the door and the alarm immediately sounded! There must be something I don’t know about entering a Greek Orthodox church? Or maybe I’m just a bad egg. In any case, I quickly walked out again. Or was it the time I walked into another church and found two priests dressed in their black cassocks singing in unison, each standing on separate lecterns across from one another, I was the only witness there.

A house of religious services is always an intrigue of mine, whether it be the architecture of it’s walls, it’s beliefs, it’s congregation or inside where the repetitive theatrical action of ritual is housed; blessing, kissing, genuflecting, kneeling, sitting, standing, shaking hands, singing, praising. Although, more often than intrigue, I find it harrowing to know that religion is so tied up with so many disasters, wars and corruption and I’m concerned about Ireland’s dark past and present.

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Your first musical instrument was the piano; if I remember correctly. I love your many beautiful piano improvisations you have recorded. (I’m sure I’ve only heard a small portion!) ‘December Piano’ is my favourite that completely transports me. I would love to gain an insight into your creative process involved in the piano-based compositions?

Ah yes, December piano.. This particular piece was an improvisation I made one morning at my parents house. We’ve always had the same piano and it’s like an old friend at this stage! I always try to make some time for it when I’m home. I’ve a heightened sense of awareness in this particular setting as it’s very still and quiet there. In this instance, I took inspiration from the wind which I could hear howling from outside the window, so, I began by mimicking it’s sound on the piano.

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I love your song ‘A Calling’. Gorgeous harmonies, bird sounds and percussion creates this timeless folk sound. There is a meditative power to this song. Can you shed some light on this song please?

I made a short super 8 film based on a prayer, the same time Music For Church Cleaners was underway. ‘A Calling’ was the sound track I made to go with the film. There were dancers who wore black cloaks and reflective circular masks, a drummer and another person signaling with seamphore.

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You have collaborated with many like-minded artists, such as United Bible Studies, The A. Lords, Piano Magic, Mark Fry to name but a few. As a composer, this healthy collaborative side to your work must be a wonderful thing. Tell me please about this collaborative aspect that you clearly thrive on and the impact it has?

I’m always keen for a chance to learn and explore and experience new horizons, so I will always collaborate with others. Sometimes they happen to be like-minded and sometimes not at all, it can work either way and in the spirit of the new, I always try something out at least once.

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What’s next for you Áine?

I have an album coming out in May 2013 on the Second Language label. After that, I intend to find a home for an organ based release.

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What direction will your next album take, if you know at this stage?

Yes, the album – ‘Anything bright or startling?’ is different in execution. Most of the tracks are centered around harp apart from one piano track and another pipeorgan track. Some are studio recordings whilst others are more of a low-fi approach. I record my voice for the first time and enter into the world of song.

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‘Anything Bright Or Startling?’ will be available soon on Second Language Music.

“I vaguely recall wanting to invent a raft of bands for my label that didn’t actually exist…I love myth-making in music. But I suppose The Cloisters really festered away there at the back of my mind and this – 14 years later – is that album (sort of).”

—Michael Tanner

Words: Mark Carry, Illustration: Craig Carry

The Cloisters is the latest music project of Dorset-based musician Michael Tanner. The debut album was released late last year on the wonderful independent label, Second Language. Across four tracks and 41 minutes in length, the self-titled release is gorgeously layered ambient music with delicate etchings of divine folk. For those already familiar with Michael Tanner’s diverse body of work, a terrific sense of nostalgia and mystery is embedded in the masterfully crafted songs. The Cloisters’ intricate arrangements and gorgeous instrumentation allows the listener to be immersed in an insular world of forgotten dreams. This album has served as my headphone listening for many a winter’s evening, forever shining light onto the night’s sky. The musicians on this collaborative project display their peerless musicianship. The sounds and textures are intricately woven together forming abstract landscapes of an English countryside and fantasy filled dreams. The album features Áine O’ Dwyer (United Bible Studies) on harp, Daniel Merrill (Dead Rat Orchestra) on viola, Aaron Martin on cello, and Hanna Tuulikki on church harmonium. The tracks were recorded in some of the places Michael Tanner grew up in, including Symonds Yat, in Herefordshire and a few Welsh border towns. In this way, the music evokes childhood memories and vivid nostalgia across the tapestry of sound. The material was heavily influenced by re-reading Susan Cooper’s ‘Dark Is Rising’ series of pagan children’s books, with their tales of billowing mists rolling down Welsh mountains. My favourite piece is ‘A Pelagic Recital’, written by Áine O’ Dwyer and Michael Tanner. Delicate notes of O’ Dwyer’s harp are the first sounds you hear, before a wave of church harmonium and strings provide a spectrum of ambient flourishes. The harp as the lead instrument is simply mesmerizing, as it meanders like a river flowing out to sea. Sublime indeed.

It is a real joy to see a music label like Second Language deliver such artistic gems, especially in this modern age of digital music. The independent label releases collectible new music by a wonderful international roster of hand-chosen artists (including Heather Woods Broderick, Piano Magic, Plinth, Mark Fry And The A. Lords) and not to mention their awe-inspiring compilations. The releases are often very limited editions with such time and dedication taken for every detail of the particular work of art to be realized. Each album is unique and holds a special significance that represents a specific space and time, far removed from the commercial mainstream. It is a fitting testament to Michael Tanner’s artistry that sees a wide range of his works home to this prestigious label. Plinth, The A. Lords are just a couple. The Cloisters represents the latest chapter. As mentioned above, it was through Mark Fry And The A. Lords that I was first introduced to Michael Tanner and one very beautiful album entitled ‘I Lived In Trees’. The vinyl album was released a couple of years ago on Second Language.

‘I Lived In Trees’ was an album that came some 39 years after the release of his cult-classic ‘Dreaming With Alice’ in the early 70’s. The album is a collaboration between Mark Fry and The A. Lords. This wonderfully named musical entity is Michael Tanner and Nicholas Palmer. ‘I Lived In Trees’ was given its wings when the pair would send Mark Fry (while at home in Normandy, France) some instrumental pieces they had recorded in Dorset. In the words of Mark Fry: “I very quickly heard how beautifully constructed it was, and what unusual arrangements they had-they ached of a lost England, beautiful and evocative pastoral landscapes-I soon became hooked.” The album itself is a true work of art and the songs have been a daily soundtrack for me since first purchasing the vinyl in my local record store a couple of years ago. Songs so beautiful and so true and touching. It’s not often that albums like this come around, breathing such meaning and truth. I know I will be revisiting ‘I Lived In Trees’ for the next 39 years and more.

It is amazing to look into the discography of Michael Tanner. The myriad of aliases and side-projects are staggering but it’s the high level of artistic quality attached to this output is what’s most endearing. These sonic ventures include Plinth, as part of the duo The A. Lords, United Bible Studies, Directorsound, and Taskerlands. I have yet to delve into some of these projects but I soon will. Music is an endless exploration and the songbook of Mr Tanner is precisely just that.

‘The Cloisters’ by The Cloisters is out now on Second Language Music.

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Michael Tanner Interview.

Congratulations Michael on your latest project, The Cloisters-a gorgeous collage of pastoral folk and cinematic soundscapes. It’s great to ask you a few questions about your music. Thanks for your time.

Thanks Mark. It’s had four years of lurking on various hard drives and shifting shapes prior to last November’s release.

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What was the pre-cursor that led to the formation of The Cloisters?

There was no formation as such – the name merely reflects a more collaborative nature in the material, which is usually whittled away in private. When I first started my tape/CDr label in the late 90s, we listed a forthcoming release by The Cloisters, which promised to be modern classical quintet. I hadn’t recorded any material in that vein nor was I capable of doing so with just a primitive sampler, guitar and total lack of ability, so I don’t know what I was thinking. I vaguely recall wanting to invent a raft of bands for my label that didn’t actually exist…I love myth-making in music. But I suppose The Cloisters really festered away there at the back of my mind and this – 14 years later – is that album (sort of).

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Please tell me about the beautiful artwork that graces the album’s sleeve?

Like most of my artwork, the images were sourced at various Dorset car boot sales. They were a series of slides found in a large mouldy box that housed over 30 years of images of a certain family taking various European holidays…mostly round the Alps and Germany.
I was pretty staggered to find them there, and the thought process that can go into letting a generation of your family history become a box of junk, yours for £2 or less if you fancy haggling.

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The pieces of music were recorded and mixed between 2008 and 2012. Please give me an insight into this process and the ensemble of musicians that feature on the release?

It just took a really long time and kept changing shape. It just happens sometimes. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted the album to be, which was a first for me. The contributions from Aine O’Dwyer (harp), Dan Merrill (Viola) Aaron Martin (Cello) and Hanna Tuulikki (harmonium) really helped shape it into a cohesive whole and define a much-needed structure to proceedings.

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Is there a central theme that ties the pieces of music together?

As I mentioned this is the first record I’ve worked on without any strictly wound concept, something I normally have to enforce on myself to focus, otherwise my mind tends to uncontrollably wander. Two significant moments are the album’s opening – my cat Michu with several contact mics over her, purring away – and the outro, again, Michu coming down stairs to let out a plaintive mew after the final note on the record is played. That scheduling, if you will, happened unplanned. I liked that it bookended the record, gave it a consistent whole. She died unexpectedly as the album was being mastered and since then it’s been a tough listen for me, but as stupid as this sounds, I’ve had these crazy revisionist thoughts about the album. Hearing her content in that opening minute prior to a wall of bowed strings rising up…it sounds like death to me. Not in a goth-y/black hat kind of way, just the beginning of a journey, an afterlife. It makes her final meow at the end of the record take on this weird cyclical, metaphysical importance. I realise this makes me sound completely insane, but I can live with that.

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I love the opening piece ‘Riverchrist’. There seems to be several sections within the composition itself. Can you talk through the construction of ‘Riverchrist’ please?

Normally I find dissecting the music making process either robs some of the magic from the playback or is only of interest to musos, so anyone reading this should feel free to skip this section! (But for the rest of you…)

The opening 8 or so minutes of Riverchrist were the first to be recorded. I remember it being a freezing March evening and I was toying around with bowing my 12 string guitar through a loop pedal. I was re-reading ‘Over Sea and Under Stone’ by Susan Cooper, and found myself switching between reading the chapters of the book on the couch and layering the next sound, with the previously recorded loop ringing out of the amp in the meanwhile. This slowed the whole music-making process down in a really interesting way, meaning that the next sound I overdubbed was very considered and couldn’t be too obtrusive. This bowed section gives way to Hanna, in Lullington church, playing the tiny harmonium. You can hear my wristwatch ticking as I’m holding the recorder, and again as I record the seagulls on the window ledges of the Brighton hotel I stayed in that evening. There’s a larger, disorientating section after this with strings, gongs and water-bowls prior to Dan’s wonderful Viola arrangements. He’d initially recorded these as an overdub for the opening 8 minutes of bowed guitar, but they were so evocative and bold that I wanted them to be heard without my ‘busy’ undertow. So I chopped them up, did some re-arranging and incorporated them into the larger body of the piece. I think his contributions gave a wonderful finality to proceedings.

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You have an endless array of collaborations and projects ongoing from the likes of Plinth and United Bible Studies to The A. Lords, amongst many others.What’s fascinating is the quality of this musical output. How do you maintain both the high quality and quantity of your music?

That’s a tricky one. For my involvement in those projects, I just have to feel like I’m excited and going into an insular little world. There has to be atmosphere. Each new project should have something novel or unique about it, rather than copying the moves of earlier releases. Normally it then needs to sit with me and my headphones for several months, and if it still sounds worthwhile after that litmus test, it gets released.

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Discuss the A. Lords please – your wonderful collaboration with Nicholas Palmer, and the strong musical connection you both share?

Nick and I both spent our teenage years here in Dorset, frustrated by the lack of any local scene. I think I met him when he was 18/19 in a local indie nightclub. I was wearing a Palace Brothers T-shirt and I think he might have been sporting a mauve Labradford number, which sealed the deal. We exchanged tapes and got to become closer friends on his return from studying in London. I played various things in live incarnations of Directorsound for a few years and he made some wonderful additions to early Plinth music, so The A.Lords just seemed a natural extension of hanging out and music making. I think our early cassette material was really lo-fi, very abstract…at least until we saw the re-release of Wicker Man (2001?) which had a profound effect on both of us defining a folkier path ahead. We were already experimenting with recording outside, having miked up the roof of Nick’s parents bungalow to record overpassing planes. I think we were averaging a song a year until the self-titled album’s eventual release in 2011 – not a great batting average – but I think it’s a very personal record, one that’ll stay with us.

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Can you discuss the concept behind ‘Music For Smalls Lighthouse’ please. This is an exceptional album and one of my favourite Plinth releases.

Thank you. It was just a story that evoked an almost overwhelming sense of atmosphere, and ticked all of my dark fetish boxes…The stench of death astride the abyssal sea – who could not love a story like that? When I was 10 I went on a trip to the Yorvik Viking Centre in the north of England – memorable for being my one school trip that didn’t end in near-death/disaster. The ‘Vikings’ were barely convincing models with balding beards made of thatch-y material and the whole experience would have been a naff write-off were it not for a sequestered tape machine looping insane environment sounds alongside the smells of ‘battle’ and ‘farming’. Aurally, It was completely overpowering in the presence of relatively poor mannequins. That over-compensation of sound really stayed with me and in hindsight, sowed the whole conceptual seeds of playing with a historical story and littering it with heavy thuds, thunder, heavy rainfall etc…I can still recall the waxworks with a shudder.

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I would love to learn more about your musical background. What instruments did you begin to play first?

I was a really late bloomer. I’m still not particularly adept at any one thing…I just hammer away at instruments and objects until they fit through the holes in my head. The sound source for the first Plinth recording was a sewage line that was running outside a friend’s house. I had a guitar in my house from the age of 15 but didn’t learn to tune it until I was almost 20. I’m ok with my inept playing style. I used to beat myself up about it, but equally there are aspects of astonishing acts of musical virtuosity that make me feel uncomfortable. And jealous. But mostly uncomfortable.

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In what way does the English countryside influence your unique blend of music?

Well I’ve been chained by the ankle to it since birth, so there’s no way it could not effect not just my music, but certain attitudes and traits that are hard to beat out of myself. It’s a bit of a jaded love affair, to be honest. I vacillate between craving the culture and faces of city life and longing for the solitude the country offers. I’m told there’s an English-ness to my output, and I get that. It feels like a dirty word sometimes. I think it all stems from an intense craving for something/someplace that doesn’t really exist.

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What albums are you listening to most these days?

I tend to go through phases whereby I get obsessed with one particular album and live inside it for a while. Most recently that’s been side A of ‘Sir John A Lot’ by John Renbourn, but before that it was a collection of Lassus’ psalms by the Hilliard Ensemble. Virginia Astley EPs. I like a Tame Impala song I heard on the internet. I also have an ongoing, slightly-debilitating and completely unhealthy obsession with the entire recorded output of England’s greatest dark knight, Mike Oldfield.

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What is next for you Michael?

I have no idea. Musically, I feel everything needs to change but I’m not sure how. I’m becoming very suspicious of what is loosely termed ‘ambient/experimental’ music. I have an album of Vangelis synth-inspired pieces due on my friend Paul’s Fort Evil Fruit cassette label early in 2013 which should be quite different to my usual output. I’m recording the new Noa Babayof album at my home studio in Dorset over Christmas. Locally, I’m attempting to form the Bournemouth Improvisers Orchestra to get some of my latent live performing frustrations out for when I’m not playing with United Bible Studies. Other than that, the usual bollocks. Chart domination.

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The self-titled album by The Cloisters is out now on Second Language Music.

Abandon Reason is an independent label based in Galway. The illuminating sounds on a new compilation, entitled ‘I’m In The Abyss!’ showcases the greatness this label has to offer. A light is cast upon a diverse array of awe-inspiring Irish talent. I am lost for words in beginning to describe my feelings for several of these amazing musicians. Yawning Chasm (AKA Aaron Coyne) is one of my favourite singer-songwriters making music today. Áine O’ Dwyer is a rare and magical force that will leave you dumbfounded; her harp-based folk compositions are steeped in beauty. Raising Holy Sparks (AKA David Colohan) inhabits a distant cosmic space, setting the atmosphere alight. Brigid Power Ryce beautifully re-interprets Irish traditional song. This is merely a fraction of the multitude of talent operating in Abandon Reason. Their songs originate from a real space and time, the abyss-where art is composed and performed.

Words: Mark Carry, Illustration: Craig Carry

“You know your words will fallflat on the deaf voidYou know your bones will mergewith ivies and insects with rubble and dust”

—‘Peripheral Eyes’ by Yawning Chasm

One of the many transcendent moments scattered throughout ‘I’m In The Abyss’ comes from Aaron Coyne’s voice and baritone ukulele. Under the guise of Yawning Chasm, Coyne creates timeless folk songs. The music of Yawning Chasm inhabits the human space where a vast ocean of feeling and emotion pours into your veins. As with any special singer-songwriter, the voice is paramount; as Brian Wilson once so rightly said: “A voice or a song can be so confronting to someone who really needs it.” Later this year Abandon Reason will release a full-length Yawning Chasm record. It will be undoubtedly one of the albums of 2013.

The ‘I’m In The Abyss’ compilation has introduced me to a whole plethora of innovative, engaging and affecting musicians, not least Brigid Power Ryce. Her accordion and voice fully exploits the vast space of the car park and taps into the human space. This song is closer to a concerto, where each fleeting verse becomes one of many movements. Listen to her voice. I am transported back to a bygone era of Stevie Nicks or Sandy Denny. The accordion drifts beneath her achingly beautiful vocal. The sound of Irish traditional song yet steeped in a newness from a fifth dimension. I think this song in particular, conveys the “abyss”, where the song’s eighth minutes transcends space and time. The power and glory of ‘Tiny You And Me’ serves as a beautiful taster for what is to come for Ryce. A new record is due out on Abandon Reason sometime in 2013.

Next is a gorgeous instrumental entitled ‘Snakes’ performed by Declan Kelly (banjo) and Brigid Power Ryce (harmonium). The instrumental possess an ethereal flow throughout, where the banjo notes rise and fall, creating a magnificent climax as both harmonium and banjo form a crescendo. The sparse instrumental could be taken from a film by Shane Meadows such is the dark beauty that radiates in the envelope of emotion. Timeless.

My highlight comes from Limerick-born, London-based musician Áine O’ Dwyer. To witness Áine’s live performance is one to truly savour and hold onto long after the notes are played and have dispersed into the night. I saw her in support of United Bible Studies late last year (the band which she is also a member of), and for me was one of the most spectacular concerts imaginable. No microphone or aided technology. Her voice and harp creates true art. The acoustics of the space comes to life as the tapestry of harp notes cascade magically across the atmosphere. The dynamic of her performance is staggering, as the hushed tones of delicate notes evolve into an orchestra of swirling notes and enthralling vocals. The song ‘Albion Awake’ is a beautiful glimpse of this gifted songwriter and musician.

‘In Winter’ by Burrows is reworked here as a harmonium version. The soundscapes of ethereal voice and harmonium combines together to form an ambient/drone song cycle. Think Beth Gibbons alongside Grouper. The music is captivating. The track begins as an improvisation on harmonium that melds into the title-track from Burrows’ (AKA Kate Glavey) album ‘In Winter’.

A haunting and beguiling sound is created by David Colohan’s Raising Holy Sparks. One feels time stand still as the sacred a cappella of voices (Brigid Power Ryce, Declan Kelly, Kaiser Caimo, Aaron Coyne, and leader David Colohan). The instrumentation of melodica, trombone, shruti box and cello adds to the eerie sense of space. As the song title suggests, Raising Holy Sparks and the Abandon Reason roster of talent, set the landscape singing, and what a beautiful sight and sound it is.

Richard Dawson Irish TourThe first date is in Dublin on Thursday the 7th of March at 8pm and takes place upstairs in Whelan’s (€8 entry). Support is from Raising Holy Sparks, Yawning Chasm and Birchall/Cheetham duo (a drums&guitar improv act) (Whelan’s website here).Next is Cork on Friday the 8th, taking place in Plugd, again at 8pm, entry is €7. Support again from Raising Holy Sparks, and opens with a rare screening of avant-garde ‘king of Super-8’ Saul Levine’s “Notes of an Early Fall” (1976, 34 mins). (Facebook event page here).Last stop is Galway on Saturday the 9th. The venue is DeBurgos (a beautiful converted medieval wine cellar, used to host the excellent Stress nights) 9:15pm, €7 entry. Support is from Brigid Power Ryce and The Driftwood Manor. (Facebook event page here.)

Conflux Limerick is happening on Saturday 17th November, and comprises a feast of music with 20 bands performing across 4 stages at 2 venues; Bourkes Bar and The Blind Pig/Dr John’s. The lineup features some of the most promising and exciting Irish acts in recent years: Rusted Rail’s Cubs, Aine O Dwyer, Driftwood Manor and The Great Balloon Race.

Words: Mark Carry, Illustration: Craig Carry

Cubs

This supergroup of Irish musicians are rooted in the folk tradition and take it further, pushing the sonic envelope, creating new horizons of sublime beauty. Free folk for the 21st Century, where the tradition of folk music is intertwined with the fabric of cinematic soundscapes and beguiling field recordings. Cubs is truly a wonderful and precious thing. Their latest release ‘Willowfield’ (Rusted Rail, 2012) and ‘The Whispering Woods’ (Rusted Rail/DeadSlackString, 2010) are quite simply the best independent releases from Ireland for years and years. Listening to Cubs’ music allows escapism of the truest kind. The warm textures, sonic wonder, spontaneous sparks and divine melodies fuse together, creating Cubs’ wholly unique folk sound. Planxty, Bert Jansch, Anne Briggs, John Fahey, Mark Kozelek can be heard, dotted across a landscape of cinematic wonder and psych delight. One listen to Cubs and the listener instantly becomes transfixed. Cubs will perform their first gig of 2012, and their first in years at the Conflux festival, Limerick.

Aine O’ Dwyer

I was late in discovering Aine O’ Dwyer’s music. It was the home of the Second Language label where I (indirectly) came across this gifted musician. Last year’s treasured gem ‘I Lived In Trees’ by Mark Fry and The A. Lords was my avenue into Aine O’ Dwyer’s beautiful music. The harpist adds dreamy soundscapes to the A. Lords’ divine tapestry of warm, pastoral sounds. Soon, I discovered more collaborations on the same label-from Piano Magic to The Cloisters. Plugd introduced me to O’ Dwyer’s ‘Music For Church Cleaners’. An album of church organ music performed by Aine in St Mark’s Church, Islington. The spiritual music possesses this meditative power throughout with melancholic shades of colours. Amazing. I can’t wait to see Aine O’ Dwyer in concert and playing directly after Cubs, the prospect is simply mouth-watering!

The Great Balloon Race

The Great Balloon Race are one of the most exciting bands emerging from Cork for quite some time. I love the feel of their songs-this hidden dimension is tapped into. I see them sharing the spirit of Grizzly Bear, with their mesmerizing song cycles of progressive harmonies and immaculate arrangements. ‘Pockets’ is sublime. The song builds with multi-layered harmonies, percussion and gorgeous guitar tones. ‘Grog’ is a divine jazz exploration that echoes Tortoise. I simply can’t wait for their debut album, to be released in a few weeks time. A truly great band.

Driftwood Manor

I saw these guys perform live in Plugd, Cork a few months back. Their special blend of folk and traditional music encompasses worlds of sound, from psych folk to traditional music forms. Similar to Cubs and the Rusted Rail roster of talents, boundaries are blurred and truly transcendent music is lifted from the underground. On the band’s most recent release, ‘A Cross Atop A Hill’, Eddie Keenan’s songcraft and musicianship is wonderfully on display. The title-track contains drifting piano melodies amidst field recordings. ‘The Crossing’ is an epic folk opus. Layers of guitars, banjo and bouzouki are plucked and strummed beneath Keenan’s glorious baritone.

Phantom Dog Beneath The Moon

As with all things Rusted Rail, this is yet another compelling sonic venture from the west. Phantom Dog Beneath The Moon is the collaboration between Aaron Hurley and Scott McLaughlin. The band experiment with many sounds and styles-indie rock, shoegaze, folk, intertwine in their compelling creations.

The artists mentioned above are just five of the twenty or more acts that will perform on the day from 3PM to 2AM. (22 Acts, 4 Stages, 2 Venues, 1 Day)